Needed items for atv?

[Gerritt]

Hey guys, I just pulled the trigger on a new 2019 Can Am Max XT 850, looking to use it mainly for work around the house, plowing the driveway, but we also plan to use it on the various trails around us and offroad/onroad (legal here) in your experience is there anything i should be carrying with me on the bike? (Other then the obvious paperwork required for the authorities of course)

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

G

Edited February 10, 2019 by Gerritt
Picture added

[Fisherman]

Winch when to try to go places you shouldn't, hand warmers for winter, a basic tool kit although most come with it.  I like my fairing, keeps the wind chill off, has a quick release set up.  If you're going ice fishing,  get yourself a piece of pipe or angle iron about 12 inches long,  heavy duty eye bolt in the middle so you can drop it down the hole in the ice to winch yourself out.  An extra 50' of good braided nylon rope or recovery strap.  If you're going to use it for plowing, I would highly recommend an electric ram. We used our ATV's/plows at work and went through a number of winches, solenoids, cable and hooks.  Winches are made for straight pulls, not over the roller fairleads in and out all day.  The electric rams have upper and lower auto stops, so no worry about "stretching" things. Installation is less than 2 beer.   Here is what I mean: https://www.ebay.com/itm/WARN-84600-ProVantage-Electric-Plow-Lift-for-ATV-plow-systems/152889348949?epid=209872661&hash=item2398ea5355:g:6AIAAOSwvoxb6P9w

Edited February 8, 2019 by Fisherman

[Fisherman]

Maybe a ram holder for your GPS.

[Gerritt]

Hey thanks! I will look into the ram system, the bike comes with a 3000lb warn winch, never would of thought about a piece of pipe etc.. i live on a lake and will likely be using it often out there... great advice! I will definitely get some additional rope etc..

 

As for the gps holder that is a must, i will be adding gps in the very near future.

 

Thanks again!

Edited February 8, 2019 by Gerritt

[smitty55]

A couple of pulleys and a tree strap or two to go with your tow ropes can be a lifesaver if you or a bud get badly stuck in the bush. You can easily double the force of your winch.

 

Cheers

[Woodsman]

A spare drive belt & spark plugs.

[Gerritt]

All great suggestions guys thanks!

[G.mech]

I carry a compass and a mini air compressor.  We travel some pretty rough, rocky trails into the hunt camp and it's not unusual to knock a tire off a rim from time to time so if you have the compressor, you can usually get rolling again.  

[ch312]

To relieve stress on the winch and cable while plowing you can attach a snatch block to the top of the blade then feed your winch line through the block then up to the rack. Makes it a straight pull so you're not wearing the winch cable. The snatch block comes in handy all year.

Synthetic winch line is much easier to handle, does not draw blood like steel cables, and it floats. 

Hand/thumb warmers wired to work only when ignition is on. 

Pretty sure Can Am's won't run with a dead battery so adding a digital voltage meter is a cheap and easy way of monitoring the charging system and battery. I added one to the handle bars and is very small at roughly 1 1/2" x 1/2".

Tree saver/recovery strap so you're not damaging trees with the winch line. Also useful for towing (do NOT use your winch for towing) and attaching the winch line to odd shaped or easily damaged objects.

Front and rear hitch or tow strap.

Aluminum skid plates for the frame and A-arms. 

Left hand throttle control, either Goldfinger or DIY option. One of the best mods added to an ATV. 

 

Basic tool kit with wire, pliers, knife, ratchet, screw drivers, zip ties, etc. Sometimes you'll need to remove whatever is left of a broken axle to continue riding, remove a spark plug to get water out of a swamped engine, switch batteries with a buddy who has a machine that will run without a battery, cut off wire or other junk people have left in the bush, etc. 

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Fisherman sure knows his stuff. We've been caught in whiteouts out on a few lakes ice fishing and sure wished we had a GPS to find our way back, safely, but the hand held weren't invented yet. 

A can of that "Fix a Flat" stuff may come in handy out in the bush or on the ice. It has served me well a few times and much smaller than a small compressor. 

Maybe a trailer to tow all the stuff mentioned. 

[ch312]

4 minutes ago, G.mech said:

I carry a compass and a mini air compressor.  We travel some pretty rough, rocky trails into the hunt camp and it's not unusual to knock a tire off a rim from time to time so if you have the compressor, you can usually get rolling again.  

It can be quite difficult to reseat the bead, especially when mud and other crud prevents a good seal. Be sure to carry a ratchet strap to wrap around the tire and crank it down tight to help get the bead to seal. Or just get one of the guys to carry a portable air blaster for inflating tires and seating beads. A can of ether works too, but it always makes me nervous as ATV tires are low pressure. 

Another option is to carry a few tire spoons to get one side off the rim so you can jamb a tire tube in inflate a garbage tire.

A couple times we've had to jam the tire full of long grass and leaves after sidewall blowouts to make it home. ?

 

[Fisherman]

1 hour ago, ch312 said:

To relieve stress on the winch and cable while plowing you can attach a snatch block to the top of the blade then feed your winch line through the block then up to the rack. Makes it a straight pull so you're not wearing the winch cable. The snatch block comes in handy all year.

Synthetic winch line is much easier to handle, does not draw blood like steel cables, and it floats.

Not to poo poo CH312's idea on the snatch block on the winch/plow, we tried that a few different ways, it does work, but.. sometimes if you let the cable out too far, on retrieve it can jump the pulley and get caught between the sheeves, a royal pain to take apart and fix.  Secondly if you're a wee bit over zealous on the "IN" side of the switch,  you can really jam the winch cable into itself like a birds next on a levelwinder, another royal pain, and part of that you can either snap the cable or cause things to bend and really stress the battery.   Been there,  and had to fix a bunch of things other guys didn't understand.  Good luck.

Another item that works well for me are the handlebar muffs,  large enough to go over the brake handles and throttle and switches.  Mine have a plastic window on top to see everything,  not expensive,  if you want the brand/model, I can dig that info up.

[ch312]

40 minutes ago, Fisherman said:

Not to poo poo CH312's idea on the snatch block on the winch/plow, we tried that a few different ways, it does work, but.. sometimes if you let the cable out too far, on retrieve it can jump the pulley and get caught between the sheeves, a royal pain to take apart and fix.  Secondly if you're a wee bit over zealous on the "IN" side of the switch,  you can really jam the winch cable into itself like a birds next on a levelwinder, another royal pain, and part of that you can either snap the cable or cause things to bend and really stress the battery.   Been there,  and had to fix a bunch of things other guys didn't understand.  Good luck.

Another item that works well for me are the handlebar muffs,  large enough to go over the brake handles and throttle and switches.  Mine have a plastic window on top to see everything,  not expensive,  if you want the brand/model, I can dig that info up.

 

Might I suggest using a quality snatch block intended for winching which makes it impossible for the cable to get caught up anywhere. Cheap blocks or homemade rigs are a pain in the butt and can be dangerous.

It takes a significant amount of inattention to damage a winch or cable while plowing to the point where I would question the individuals ability to safely operate said ATV. Winch out until blade hits ground, stop. Winch in until blade is high enough, stop. Repeat. Quite complicated indeed. You should take video of your guys at work!

 

 

[G.mech]

Spare mattress is always handy...queen size is best just in case you find a friend in the bush.

 

 

[Fisherman]

1 hour ago, ch312 said:

 

Might I suggest using a quality snatch block intended for winching which makes it impossible for the cable to get caught up anywhere. Cheap blocks or homemade rigs are a pain in the butt and can be dangerous.

It takes a significant amount of inattention to damage a winch or cable while plowing to the point where I would question the individuals ability to safely operate said ATV. Winch out until blade hits ground, stop. Winch in until blade is high enough, stop. Repeat. Quite complicated indeed. You should take video of your guys at work!

 

 

Hahaha, I know what you mean when it comes to some people.  When you tell someone where to blow the snow,  he almost managed to fill the entrance door at one point. 

[Gerritt]

That would be awesome fisherman, thank you for digging up that info for me

[Fisherman]

The ones I have are called Quad gear ATV mitts,  Royal Dis't also carries them Visi-control muffs, page 22 of Royal Dis't 2018 catalogue

[wkrp]

Wow what a sweet FN machine

[Terry]

tracks are good

 

[DRIFTER_016]

I carry one of these just in case. 

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-eliminator-750a-lithium-ion-booster-pack-and-power-bank-0111906p.html#srp